Indian University to Offer ‘Course on Ghost Studies’ to Doctors

One of India’s premier education institutions, Banaras Hindu University is offering a certificate course to teach, MBBS students how to treat people who claim to see or be possessed by ghosts as part of their curriculum.

The six-month course at BHU popularly known as Banaras Hindu University located in the north Indian city of Varanasi or Banaras will start in the month of January.

According to the University officials, the course will focus on psychosomatic disorders, which are often confused with the paranormal occurrences. The course will be conducted by the department of Ayurveda, the ancient Hindu system of healing and medicine.

According to news agency IANS, a BHU official has informed that a separate unit of Bhoot Vidya or Ghost Studies had been set up in the university campus.

The dean of Ayurveda Department, Yamini Bhushan Triparthi has said, “Bhoot Vidya mainly deals with psychosomatic disorders, diseases caused by unknown reasons and diseases of mind or psychic conditions”.

She also added, that the Banaras Hindu University is the first educational institution in the entire country to offer such a unique course, which would teach the doctors about “the Ayurvedic remedies to treat ghost related ailments”. 

The therapies in Ayurveda generally include diet changes, herbal medicines, massages, breathing and other forms of exercise.

According to a 2016 survey conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience (Nimhans), it is found that nearly 14% of Indians are mentally ill. On the other hand, the World Health Organisation in 2017 estimated that 20% of Indians might suffer from depression at some or other point in their lives. 

But in the country, there are less than 4,000 mental health professionals for the 1.3 billion people and the awareness about these issues is also very little in the country. 

And because of the widespread social stigma, only a few people seek professional help from a psychological or counsellor care, while many Indians, especially those living in the rural and poorer areas, visit shamans and witch hunters in the hope that they will help them cure their mental illnesses.

Meanwhile, the news about the government-run Banaras Hindu University will be starting a course on Bhoot Vidya has been questioned by many on social media, who have also pointed out that medicine and rehab can be more appropriate methods to deal with such mental health issues.